Managing access to a company's electronic data presents a number of challenges for enterprises such as companies, university and other educational organizations, hospitals, local, state, and Federal government agencies. etc. The rapid expansion of bring-your-own-device (BYOD), telecommuting, mobile computing devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smart phones, have created an environment in which an ever-increasing number of devices need to access data and often need to access data from outside an enterprise's physical location.
Historically, enterprises have purchased enterprise management software in an attempt to control access to data stored on network drives. However, existing enterprise management software is limited to controlling access to files only by computing devices connected to the network on which the enterprise management software is installed if a file is copied to another computer, to a local drive, to a removable storage medium, or mailed to a user outside of the enterprise, the enterprise management software can no longer manage access to the file.
As a result of absence of managed file access, access to sensitive data may be inappropriately enabled by first removing it from a device managed by the enterprise management software. For example, a sales representative may copy an employer's customer list to a flash drive prior to leaving a company. Upon starting employment at a competing company, the sales representative may access the customer list and let prior customers know that he has moved to the competing company.
Even if the removal was authorized, the potential still exists for unauthorized access. An employee may copy files to a laptop or flash drive in preparation for a conference, meeting, or for other business to be conducted external to the enterprise. If the laptop or flash drive is lost or stolen, the files may be accessed by whoever comes into possession of the laptop or flash drive.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved file access system that can manage enterprise data on devices both within and external to the enterprise's virtual or actual network.